The Shadow of Death
by BacktraF
Summary: Germany finds himself in a time loop where he is forced to watch Italy die over and over again. Full summary inside. GerIta. Sequel to When I'm Gone.
1. The Attack

Full summary: Germany finds himself in a time loop where he is forced to watch Italy die over and over again. In order to stop this loop, Germany must figure out who he was before Prussia found him and come to terms that he loves Italy. Can he do it, or will he lose his sanity in the process. Slight Germany/Italy at the beginning, but turns into major Germany/Italy farther on.

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Chapter 1: The Attack

Germay lay in his bed with his eyes closed. Without looking he knew Italy was laying next to him. He could hear the almost silent breathing of the brunette as he continued to sleep. The blonde turned to his side and opened his eyes. He was greeted with closed ones. A smile slowly spread on his face as he watched. Even in sleep, the Italian seemed excited.

Without disturbing him, Germany got up and headed to the bathroom so he could get ready for the day. When he got back to his room he found Italy sitting up on the bed.

"Ve, Germany, I thought you left without me!" Italy exclaimed with a pout.

Germany merely smiled at this and dug through his dresser to gethis uniform. He pulled on his pants and shirt. Looking back over at the bed, he found the brunette staring at him as he finished dressing. He turned towards the wall to hide his blush from the smaller man.

"I-Italy, you need to get up too."

The Italy smiled and jumped off the bed. Quickly, he ran at Germany and hopped onto his back, wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck.

"Italy!... I can... can't... breathe!" Germany managed to choke out.

Italy dropped off his back. "Sorry..." he said quietly as he looked to the ground.

"It's okay, Italy. Please just warn me next time."

"Okay!" Italy looked up and smiled. Suddenly he started jumping up and down. "Ve, Germany, I want pasta for breakfast!"

Germany was startled by the boy's sudden outburst. He didn't know why it still surprised him when Italy did this. He should be used to it by now. Sighing, he finished buttoning up shirt and turned to the Italian. "Alright, but you're making it."

"No problem." Italy answered as he ran out of the room.

Withing minutes, Germany could smell pasta cooking in the kitchen. He couldn't help but let a chuckle escape his lips. The longer someone lives with another, the better they should know each other, but for Germany, he just seemed to keep finding more mysteries about Italy that makes him feel like he know's nothing at all. Finally arriving downstairs, he found the brunette sitting at the table with a huge smile on his face.

The pasta was served and they both ate in silence, which came to a surprise to the German. Italy had always talked excitedly at the dinner table, especially if pasta was served. This also concerned him as he felt that something bad was going to happen.

When the meal was finished both stood (well, Italy more like jumped) up and took their dishes to the sink.

"Italy, is something wrong?" Germany asked as he leaned on the counter.

"No I'm fine," Italy said with a smile.

Germany smiled back, but he wasn't convinced. As he turned to leave, however, the brunette cried out in pain. "Italy!" Germany ran to his side. "You're not fine!"

Gasping, Italy clutched his chest. "I-I think Rome is being attacked!"

The change in the Italian's tone caught Germany off gaurd. He sounded so serious and scared.

"Italy, I need you to breathe," Germany tried to say calmly.

The brunette's breathing slowed a bit, but he was still whimpering from the pain. Germany helped him stand and took him to the couch so he could rest. Once he was safely placed there, the blonde ran to his phone and organized his army and the Italian army to defend Rome. Once everything was arranged he went back to his ally and spoke. "Italy, can you stand? We need to go."

"Yes, I'm alright," Italy replied as he struggled to stand.

Germany and Italy both immediatly took off to the smaller nation's capital. When they arrived what they found was not what they were expecting. Rome was burning and both Germans and Italians alike were falling to the Allies. The smell of blood and burnt flesh filled the air. Germany was seething with anger as Italy fell to his knees in horror.

"Italy stay close to me!" The blonde yelled.

The brunette nodded numbly as he stood again and followed closely to his friend. As they passed their soldiers on the ground they checked to see if they were alive. None of the troops they found were alive having been burnt or shot to death. There were also no enemy soldiers around. Germany wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Had all of their forces been eliminated so the Allied troops moved on to another area? He hoped that wasn't true, but soon enough he saw that it was.

He saw France off in the distance shooting down the Axis forces. Italy began to cry. Why was his big brother attacking his home?

"Italy, this isn't the time to fall apart! Come!" Germany yelled and he started running towards France.

Germany was glad that the Frenchman was facing the other way because right then, he tackled him to the ground. France gave a startle yelp as he fell, face first, into the mud. He sat up with his face covered in wet dirt. "What the hell?" France sputtered wiping his face.

Germany grabbed the front of the Frenchmen's shirt and punched him. "How dare you attack here!"

Italy stood a few feet away from both nations as Germany began to beat France. Fresh tears roled down the brunette's face. His nation's capital was now in ruins. An explosion near by caught Germany off gaurd and he dropped the defeated country, or atleast he thought he was down.

Germany's head turned towards the sound of the explosion. Right as France hit the ground he reached for his gun and and aimed at the shocked blonde. He smiled as his finger tightened on the trigger.

"Germany!" Italy yelled.

Germany looked around frantically at Italy's fightened call but was tackled before he could do anything. A shot rang out as he hit the ground. He looked over at France, who sat there with a smoking gun and a panicked expression. Immediatly Germany looked at who was on top of him and saw Italy. He wasn't moving. Sitting up, almost too fast, he laid the small nation on the ground. His eyes opened, but they were unfocused and his breathing was extremely irregular.

"Italy?" It then dawn on him that he was shot. Looking around for the bullet wound, he found none on the front, but turning him over he saw that the bullet had pierced his heart through the back, or where his heart had to be. Terror washed over him and he turned him back around. "Italy... Italy, answer me!"

Italy's head slowly turned to his friend. "Germany," he said with barely a whisper. He smiled. "I had to protect you. You couldn't move in enough time."

Germany felt his heart sink. Guilt slowly rose in him. 'It's my fault that Italy was shot' he thought. "Italy you need to stay with me..."

Italy swallowed slowly and raised his hand to Germany's face. "Germany, I lo..." He let out one last breath, his hand dropping to his side. His eyes were still open, but there was no life in them. Italy was dead.

Germany pulled the dead Italian into a hug and sobbed into his shoulder. Throwing his head up and looking to the sky he screamed. A loud, long scream. After he stopped, the battlefield went eerily quiet. He set Italy on the ground and turned to France who was still frozen in shock. Just then, the German felt anger surge through him causing him to charge at the other nation. Once again, he grabbed the front of the Frenchman's shirt jerking him back to reality. Germany raised his fist as tears fell from the older man's face.

"Italy!" France yelled. "That shot was meant for you! You-you-you... Nazi!"

Germany snapped and brought his fist down hard, but right before it made impact, a bright light enveloped everything. The light suddenly disappeared and Germany found himself in bed. He sat up fast and looked around.

"Germany?"

The blonde look to his side and found Italy sitting up drowsily, rubbing his eyes. 


	2. Confusion

Chapter 2: Confusion

Germany stared at the Italian in disbelief. Quickly shaking off his shock, he figured that he had been dreaming. 'But it was so vivid' he thought.

"Germany?" Italy repeated. "What's wrong?"

"Uh... nothing," Germany stated plainly. He got out of bed and almost ran to the bathroom. Turning on the cold water, he splashed his face, convincing himself that it was just a bad dream. Sighing, he dried his face and went back to the bedroom. Italy was out of the bed and fully dressed. The blonde was almost surprised at the small nation's speed, but then again, it was Italy.

Chuckling to himself he took his uniform out of the drawer and began to dress as well. As he finished buttoning up his shirt, the Italian jumped onto his back.

"Ve, Germany! I'm going to make pasta for breakfast, okay?" Italy didn't know that he was choking the blonde.

"Italy!... I can... can't... breathe!" Germany froze as the words left his lips. This is almost exactly what had happened in the dream.

The brunette dropped off his back, just like before, and looked to the floor in shame. "Sorry," Italy said. When Germany remained silent, the Italian looked up, afraid that he was in trouble. When he looked up at the taller nation, however, he saw shock in the other's eyes. "Germany?"

Germany shook his head. 'It was just a dream' he kept repeating to himself. After all, Italy almost always acted like this, but the blonde still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. "I'm fine, Italy."

Italy smiled, "That's good! So... can I make pasta for breakfast?"

The German sighed and nodded. "Yay!" Italy jumped in the air and ran out of the room with the blonde following. When they reached the kitchen, the Italian went to work on the pasta. The small brunette began humming a tune while preparing the meal and singing. "When I look up to the empty sky, I see lightly floating macaroni." Germany managed to catch that particular phrase before Italian went back to humming. Within ten minutes the meal was ready and they served themselves.

Just like the dream, or what Germany thought was a dream, they ate in silence. That is, until Italy noticed that his friend was nervous. "Germany, did I do something wrong? You seem like you're mad at me," Italy said with obvious sadness in his voice.

"No, Italy, I'm not mad at you... I'm just thinking," Germany assured.

The brunette released the breath he was holding and became visibly relieved. However, Germany noticed that he was trembling. It wasn't very obvious and he wouldn't have noticed it if the smalled nation hadn't shaken more as he exhaled.

"Italy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just feel a little sick, that's all."

Germany was still trying to convince himself that all of this was just a coinsidence and it had nothing to do with the dream. He walked away from the table with his dishes leaving the Italian. As he washed the plate and silverware, he heard a thump in the other room.

"Italy? Are you okay?" When he recieved no answer, the blonde set the plate on the counter and went to the dining room where he found Italy, struggling to breathe, on the floor. Germany set the boy against the wall. "Italy, breathe!"

The brunette, whether ignoring the German on purpose or because pain got the better of him, continued to draw in shaky breaths. Seeing how nothing worked, Germany regretted having to do this, but he shook the Italian until he snapped out his panic. "Italy! What's wrong?"

"R-Rome! I think some.. someone's attacking it!" Italy broke down into sobs as Germany froze in terror. The dream... no not a dream. It was something more, but he couldn't quite piece together what.

Finally bringing himself back to reality he told Italy to wait there as he organized the German and Italian army to defend as he had done the first time. Coming back to the dining room, he saw that the brunette had calmed down and, although he supported himself against the wall, he was standing. "We have to go, Italy. Can you walk?"

Italy nodded and followed his friend out the door. When they arrived at the Italian capital Germany almost fell to his knees. This is exactly what he saw last time, but why? Why was this the same then he remember what had happened at the end of it all. Italy had died in his arms. He wouldn't let it happen again. so as they ran though the ruins of Rome the blonde turned to Italy. Taking a look around before he spoke he saw that many dead troops surrounded them.

"Italy, I need you to stay here and look for any survivers." Germany saw that there were no enemy soldiers around because they had moved on. This would be a good place to leave the brunette as he continued on.

"Okay, but what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find the ones responsible for this." And with that Germany turned on his heel and continued on. Soon, just like in the dream, vision, or whatever someone might call it, he found France shooting down the German and Italian troops. He, once again, tackled the older nation to the ground.

"What the hell?" France sputtered just like last time. And Germany, just like last time grabbed the front of his shirt and began to beat him. This action brought a memory of France attacking him to the surface.* This was strange because he had never been attacked by France before. Pushing the strange memory aside he continued to punch the nation until an explosion behind him disrupted him. He would have continued, but when he realized that the explosion wasn't in the same place as the first time, but in the direction of where Italy was, Germany dropped France and observed as the fire and smokewent up to the sky.

France, glad that the stronger blonde was distracted, grabbed his gun and aimed at him, slowly pulling down on the trigger. Luckily Germany recalled what happened the first time, and turned back around in enough time to side step the bullet and bring the butt of his gun down on the Frenchman's face. Satisfied that he was knocked out, the German ran off towards Italy, hoping that he was okay.

"Italy!" Germany yelled through the smoke. No answer. Frantically, the blonde turned this way and that, lifting rubble of destroyed buildings in search of his friend.

"Italy!" He called again, but this time he heard a small groan a few feet to his right. Turning his head he scanned for the source of the noise, and, locating a slowly moving hand under a thin but large slab of stone. Running over to the object he lifted it up and off of the small man with inhuman strength.

"Italy," Germany breathed in horror at the sight before him. It looked like the brunette's chest and abdomen took the brunt of the explosion. He almost had to be standing so close to the bomb. A pang of guilt swept over the German. He was unable to protect his friend once again. "Hang in there, please."

A tear rolled down the blonde's face and landed on the Italian's battered chest. "Germany, why are you crying?"

Looking into the small man's eyes, he could see the pain in them. Slipping his hand into the Italian's he said, "Don't die, Italy."

Italy smiled and slowly closed his eyes, squeezing his ally's hand. "Italy, open you're eyes!"

"But I'm tired, Germany, " the brunette said quietly.

More tears escaped his eyes as the Italian's grip went slack. Pulling the Italian's blood covered body closer he morned the loss of his friend for the second time. Just then a bright light enveloped the battlefield and dissipated, leaving Germany in his bed, next to Italy once again. This time he didn't sit up fast, he just simply opened his eyes and began to cry. Why did he have to suffer watching his ally, no his friend, die? With no answer give to him, he fell back to sleep, hoping that it was all just a bad dream.

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*Read my story When I'm Gone to understand why Germany had this memory.

In case anyone wants to know, the song that Italy was singing while making pasta is called Let's Boil Hot Water. 


	3. Figuring Things Out

Chapter 3: Figuring Things Out

Germany was startled awake by muffled sobs coming from beside him. Sitting up he found Italy burying his face in a pillow. "Italy?" The blonde reached over and shook the small nation.

The boy jumped at the sudden contact and looked over to his ally. His eyes were red from crying and he was in obvious pain.

"Italy, what's wrong?"

"I think..." the brunette shuddered. Swallowing he continued, "I think Rome is being attacked.

Germany couldn't believe what he had just said. He snapped out of his shock when a tear rolled down his cheek. The times he saw Italy die weren't dreams. He was reliving the same day over and over again, but why? Was he just supposed to watch his friend die forever? Was he supposed to fix something?... That's it! He was supposed to to find a way to keep Italy from dying!

Sitting next to the crying Italian, Germany quickly went through the two times Italy had died. The first time France had shot him, and the second time he had been standing near a bomb. This time he would try something else. He could drop him off at Austria's house... no that would take too long. He could leave him here and have Prussia watch him. Germany wasn't sure he liked that idea, but it was better than nothing.

Jumping off the bed, Germany ran out of the room to find his brother who was probably still sleeping. "Prussia!" Germany yelled once he was in his brother's room. When no answer was given the blonde sighed. His brother could probably sleep through the damn apocalypse.

Pulling the blankets off of the sleeping form, he still got no response. He was beginning to get frustrated so, grabbing the side of the bed, he flipped the mattress. With a loud thump, the albino hit the floor, missing the side table by only a few centimeters. Germany grimaced at his own carelessness.

"Oi, what's the big idea?" Prussia asked drowsily. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and noticed Germany looking at him with a terrifying scowl. "Oh... W-West... What going on?" Prussia asked, thinking he was in trouble.

"I need you to watch Italy for a bit. Rome is being attacked. "

Prussia's eyes widened and he stood up. "Is he ok?"

"I don't know..." the blonde's voice trailed off as he tears threatened to surface. Turning around quickly, he pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply. "I just need to watch him so I can go to the battle."

"Okay..." That was all Germany heard as he walked out and headed back to his room where he found Italy trying to focus on his breathing. "Italy, I'm going to leave for Rome, but Prussia is going to stay with you."

Too weak to object, the brunette simply nodded and continued to tremble. As Germany turned to leave, Italy seemed to find enough of his voice and say, "Be careful..."

Germany smiled and turned back to the small nation and laid a kiss on his forehead. Just then a blush broke out on his face and he turned back to the door. "Don't worry, I will." Quickly he got out of the room. Why had he kissed the Italian? Shaking the thought from his head he organized the troops for the third time and left for the battle.

The ruins of Rome were once again shown in all of it's horror. Death surrounded him as he again, searched for survivers in false hope that one, just one, might be alive this time. He was rewarded with nothing.

Turning to the sound of shooting, his anger boiled over as he realized who it was. He felt sense of deja vu wash over him as he tackled the Frenchman. He could clmost chuckle at the irony if he wasn't in this situation.

"What the hell?" France exclaimed with confusion. Germany was almost annoyed at the repeated words.

This time, the taller nation did not beat the long haired blonde. He simply brought the butt of his gun down on his face in a quick attempt to subdue him. He looked out at the field and saw American, French, and Russian forces marching through the city, creating more carnage as they went. Germany charged at the enemy joined by a few German and Italian soldiers. He picked off a few stragglers towards the back of the group, only stopping when he heard something over one of there radios.

"We've infiltrated Germany's house! I repeat, we've infiltrated Germany's house!"

At those words Germany's heart nearly stopped.

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Prussia sat next to the sleeping Italian unsure of what to do. He hadn't taken care of anyone since Germany was little, and that was a long time ago. Now it seemed that Germany was taking care of him. The brunette stirred, but settled back into a deep sleep. Sighing, the German stood and left the room. He was about to go to the kitchen and make himself something to eat when a loud thud came from the front door.

Peeking out of the kitchen door, the albino starred at the door with one eyebrow raised. Another thud made Prussia jump.

Just then the door flew open with a loud crash. "Oi, just what do you think you're doing?" Prussia stomped out of the doorway and towards the rucus only to stop dead in his tracks. A small group of British troops just broke down the door! A shot rang out and the white haired nation felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Looking down he saw blood coming out of a bullet wound. He fell to his knees and cltutched the injury in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. Everything began to get blury. He fell forward and watched as the soldiers ran through the house, searching for anyone else.

"Ve~ Prussia, what's going on?" A familier Italian voice asked.

Prussia's heart began to race. 'Not Italy, please not Italy' he thought to himself. Another shot sounded and he closed his eyes, crying. 'Atleast West won't have to kill me for letting Italy get hurt' he thought, trying to comfort himself, but only causing him to cry more. Slowly his world faded, glad that the darkness was swallowing him.

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Germany ran as fast as he could, back to his house, hoping and praying that nothing was wrong. Soon, however, his hopes were shattered when he found the door to his house broken and barely hanging on to the hinges. He dashed inside and found Prussia, face down, in a pool of his own blood. Breath catching in his throat, he knelt down and turned his brother over.

"Brother!" The blonde yelled shaking the smaller man lightly. A slight movement caught his eye and the white haired nation stirred.

His eyes opened and tears immediatly sprung from them. "I'm so sorry, West. I couldn't stop them, they just came in and shot me. Please forgive me..."

Germany shushed his brother. He had never seen him this terrified before. "It's not your fault, brother."

Prussia shook his head. "They sh-shot Italy too."

The blonde had already figured this was true, but after hearing it, he couldn't hold back anymore. Tears freely fell from his eyes. Setting Prussia against the wall, Germany set out to find Italy. It didn't take long to find him. He was lying in the hall with a bullet wound through his abdomen. The bullet had to have peirced something fatal, because, unlike Prussia, he was dead. Scooping up the Italian, Germany walked back to his brother and waited to be sent back to this morning.

"Is he dead?" Prussia asked.

Before Germany could answer, a bright light envoloped him and sent him back to his bed with Italy next to him. Sighing he sat in bed wondering what he should do. 


	4. Lost Memories

Chapter 4: Lost Memories

Germany stared up at the ceiling as he laid in the bed. These past few, for a lack of a better word, days had taken Italy away from him three different ways. It had also brought up feelings deep inside him and these lingering memories that he couldn't place. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sat up. He looked over at the small Italian as he continued to sleep and the blonde couldn't help smile sadly. He knew he had to keep Italy from dying, but he wasn't sure how.

Quietly getting out of bed, Germany went to the bathroom and washed up. As he walked back into his bedroom, he found Italy sitting up in the bed.

"Ve, Germany, I thought you left without me!" Italy exclaimed like he had the first time.

Tears almost broke through, but the larger nation managed to stop them. How many times was he going to see Italy die before he stopped the cycle? He almost couldn't bare to think about it.

Germany dug through his dresser and pulled out his uniform, still thinking about how to keep his ally alive. He pulled on his pants and shirt absent mindedly then turned to the bed and found Italy staring at him. A blush appeared on his face, but this time it didn't seem to bother him as much. A new feeling that he had never felt before began to rise in his stomach.

"It's time to get up Italy."

Italy jumped out of bed and ran up behind Germany, about ready to jump onto his back, only to be stopped by the blonde. Germany turned around quickly and placed his hand on the small nation's shoulder.

"Italy not now."

"Okay... umm, Germany?"

Without letting Italy finish Germany spoke. "Yes you can make pasta for breakfast."

Italy looked at the German in awe, about to ask how Germany knew what he was going to ask, but decided not to.

"Grazie, Germany!" Italy yelled excitedly. With that the brunette bolted out of the door, leaving Germany to his thoughts.

The German couldn't fingure out what he should do. Anything could happen to Italy in any situation he was put in. The last time he had left him with Prussia and that didn't help... PRUSSIA! Germany was ripped from his thoughts as he remembered his brother and, faster than Italy could run in retreat, he ran to his brother's room. He opened the door so fast he thought he was lucky that it didn't come off its hinges.

He found the albino sleeping peacefully on his bed and the blonde released the breath he was holding. He walked over to his brother and tried to wake him up. If the soldiers infiltrated his house last time they would probably do it again. Going through trial and error once again he finally succeeded in rousing the slightly smaller man.

"What do you want, West? I'm tired and I..." Prussia looked into the glare of his younger brother and clamped his mouth shut. He knew better than to keep talking when he looked like that.

"I need you to get up..." Germany had to think of a reason for waking him up. "because it's morning and... you'll waste the day." Germany almost cringed at his choice of words.

The white haired man simply stared at the blonde with a dumbfound look on his face. "Waste the day? Did you really say that?"

"Just get up!"

Prussia jumped at the forceful words and got out of bed.

Turning on his heel, Germany left the room in embaressment and went to the kitchen where Italy was waiting for him with made pasta.

"Germany~," Italy smiled and sat down at the table with the bowl of pasta. They served themselves and ate in silence like the other times. Germany's heart began to hammer against his chest as the inevitable drew closer and closer. The end of breakfast came fast and Germany felt as though his heart would break through his rib cage. Just then Prussia came in, happy, as he walked over to the table and picked a noodle from the bowl and popped it in his mouth.

"Hmm, not as good as wurst, but hey," Prussia said with a shrug and smiled. "Italy made it."

"Knock it off, brother!"

"Aw come one, West. You know that's the only reason you eat his stuff." Prussia realized he said the wrong thing when a blush broke out across Italy's face as he stood and ran to the kitchen.

Germany almost slapped his brother when a crash was heard in the other room. Both German's stood up and ran to the kitchen, finding Italy on the floor with various pots, pans and other dishes lying around him.

"Italy!" Germany ran to the brunette's side and lifted him to a sitting position. He didn't know why he was so shocked at finding Italy on the floor in pain. It had been happening the last few days.

"Germany! Rome..." Italy began to cough. Shaking his head of all thoughts, Germany turned to Prussia and told him to organize the armies. The albino ran to the phone and did as he was told while his brother took the Italian to the couch.

Prussia ran back when he was finished. "Okay, everything is ready."

"Good," the blonde helped Italy to his feet and they both headed for the door. Germany stopped and turned back around to face his brother. "Prussia come with us."

Prussia saw a looked of concern in Germany's eye and began to wonder if he had known this was going to happen. Germany had woken him for no reason this morning and now he was trying to get bring him with them. He was about ready to object when he decided he could probably talked to his brother about this later. "Okay, let's go."

Germany nodded in appreciation and all three of them headed for the Rome. When they arrived, Prussia and Italy both stood in shock, but Germany tried to convince them that they needed to continue on. They were shaken out of their awe and brought back to reality. They didn't split up as they searched the battle field for survivers and enemies.

The sound of French words reached the ears of all three of them, but Germany had decided to not go that route this time. However, Prussia had a different plan. Once he heard those words a realization came over him and he ran towards the sound.

"Prussia, no!" Germany yelled after him.

To late. Prussia had already disappeared. The two remaining nations ran after him and found him aiming his gun directly at France.

"Prussia, don't hurt big brother!" Italy yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of a gun going of.

The bullet ripped through France's uniform and a red stain blossomed on the cloth around the wound. France fell to his knees and leaned over, coughing up blood. He breathed in shakily and fell all the way forward. He remained still with no signs of life. Italy shook his head and sunk to the ground.

"No!" Italy screamed. Tears flowed down his cheeks. "Prussia, why?"

"Italy, it wasn't me..." Prussia trailed off as he looked to Germany's hand, holding the perpetrating weapon.

Italy looked up to the white haired man then to the blonde and found his arm still extended with the smoking gun.

"Germany?" Italy breathed, eyes widening. "W-why?"

Germany didn't answer, but simply stared at the dead nation with cold eyes.

"West." Prussia reached out and laid his hand on Germany's shoulder.

Without looking at either one of them, Germany turned to the direction of the battle and walk away from them. The albino and Italian followed with a good distance between them. The blonde stopped and looked at the rest of the battlefield, sighing as a tear rolled down his face. He couldn't believe that he pulled the trigger and ended France's life, but it had to be done. He did it to protect Italy.

Italy stopped a good ten yards from Germany, but Prussia continued past him. Now was a good time to ask his brother how he knew what would happen.

"West." Germany turned and saw Prussia walk towards him. He saw Italy standing a little ways away and felt a pang of guilt.

"What do you want?"

"How did you know that Rome was going to be attacked?"

Germany faltered and tried to act like knew nothing, but failing. "I... I don't know... what you're talking about..." Germany swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"You're a bad liar," Prussia stated plainly. "I could tell something was off when you woke me up and I figured you knew what was going on after you asked me to come with you."

Germany inhaled deeply and spoke. "You won't believe me."

"Try me."

"I've been reliving this day over for the past three days. This is the forth time."

Prussia looked at him like he was crazy.

"It told you that you wouldn't believe me." Germany marched off in anger, ready to kill anything that got in his way. That is until the sound of a gunshot went off and Germany whipped his head sround to find Italy's eyes wide. Right behind him was a dying Russia soldier. The soldier shouted something in Russian only to be shut up by Prussia shooting him.

"Italy!" both nations ran to the fallen Italian.

Tears fell from Germany's eyes and Prussia wasn't sure if this had actually happened.

"Italy, stay with me, please!" Germany yelled at the bleeding nation in his arms.

"Germany," Italy choked out. His breathing was very labored, but was slowing down. "Germany..."

Italy never got to finish his sentence before he fell into oblivion for the forth time. Just then, a memory of a promise made long ago brought itself to the surface. A promise to return and see a girl after the war. Germany wracked his brain. Who was this girl he promised to see again and what war did he go to? Just then it clicked. Somehow he knew that the girl wasn't a girl, but Italy. Before he could decipher anymore of the memory before it was ripped away from him and a bright light took over once more.

Germany opened his eyes finding himself in his bed next to Italy like it had never happened. Now, however, Germany was sure that the memory he had was somehow the key to stopping this loop and save Italy. Immediatly the blonde went to work, searching his mind for any clues in the hidden memories hopping for them to surface once again. 


	5. Remembering

Chapter 5: Remembering

Germany lost count of how many times he watched Italy die. He was sure it had to be around twenty to thirty times. He was growing weary of it and wanted it to end. He wasn't sure how much longer he could watch his friend die before he sunk into insanity. Many different ways were tried to stop the cycle, but nothing was working. The small nation always ended up getting killed no matter what was done. The blonde was close to the breaking point.

He buried his face in his hands thinking things over. The only thing that was coming out of this was resufacing memories of a life before Prussia had found him and rising feelings for the Italian. He could only hope to decifer what all of this meant. It was still an hour until the attack was to take place so he decided maybe he should ask his brother about the memories. Standing up from his sitting position on the bed, he went to Prussia's room and woke him.

"West, it's too early..." Prussia said rubbing his eyes.

"Umm, brother," Germany spoke with a nervous tone.

"What's wrong?" The albino sat up straighter, a hint of concern in his eyes.

"Who... who was I before you found me?"

Prussia's eyes widened. 'How could he know that he had a life before I found him?'

Seeing his brother's shock, Germany took the chance to explain himself. "I've been having strange memories. I had an Italian accent and I wore a strange black cloak. There was a gir- I mean boy that I thought was a girl," a blush grew on the blonde's face, "and I chased... him," the last word came out slowly.

Prussia's wide eyes turned into a grin that he was trying to hide behind his hands. He knew his brother was being serious, so he tried to remain serious as well, but to imagine a young version of Germany chasing a boy that he thought was a girl was too cute for him not to smile. A small snort escaped his nose before he could stop it, which only caused Germany to blush even more. The blonde nation turned to leave. He was too embarrassed to talk to his brother anymore.

"West, wait! I'm sorry," Prussia called after him. "You're story was just cute and you're face didn't help."

Germany still refused to meet his brother's eyes, but made no attempt to leave again.

"So, do you know anything?"

"Actually, I don't really know anything other than the fact that you're not..." Prussia inhaled and swallowed the lump in his throat. He was going to have to tell Germany that he lied to him and has been lying to him for all these years. "The fact that you're not my real brother."

Germany's eyes widened. How could they not be related? "What do you mean?"

The smaller man sighed. "I found you, all those years ago, dying in the woods. I just happened to come across you before you died. I took you in and made you my brother." Prussia readied himself for Germany to punch him, but the younger made no move. He just stood there, trying to process what had just been said.

Finally, when he found his voice, he asked, "Who would know?"

"What?" Prussia asked confused.

"Who would know more about my past?"

"Umm..." Prussia tried to think then he remembered an encounter with Austria he had years ago. "Oh! Austria would.'

"Austria?"

"Yeah, remember all those years ago... when I was signing the peace treaty with him? The same day you met Italy for the first time." Prussia rushed the last sentence.

"Yeah, I remember..."

"Well, Austria was talking about who you were..." Prussia heart began to beat fast. What if Germany was mad at him?

Before anymore could be said, however, Germany turned and left the room, leaving Prussia to worry about his betrayal.

Germany ran to his study and picked up his phone so he could call Austria. After a few rings the man answered.

"Yes?"

"Austria? It's me, Germany..."

"Germany? Why are you calling me?" Some who were on the phone with the Austrian might think he was being rude with the questino, but Germany knew better. Germany rarely ever called Austria.

"Uh, I need to ask you something..."

"Who was I before Prussia found me?"

A gasp was heard on the other end. "I... would rather talk in person about this issue. How does tomorrow sound?"

"No, it can't be tomorrow..."

"Well, then..."

"If I come over right now, will that be alright?"

A long sigh was heard, then an answer. "Fine, but hurry."

Germany quickly hung up the phone and rubbed his eyes. He felt horrible for abandoning Italy to suffer alone. The trip would take too long and he wouldn't be able to get back in time to be there for him. This round, the small Italian would have to die alone. A tear rolled down the blonde's cheek. The thought of dying alone nearly tore him apart with guilt, but it had to done. There was a reason that these memories were coming out of the dark and he was determined to find out why.

He left without saying bye to Italy or his brother. He had to do this quickly. Almost thirty minutes later Germany arrived at Austria's house. He approached the door and knocked. A few seconds later, the door was answered by Austria, who welcomed him in. He was led to the lounge where he sat himself down and waited for Austria to begin.

The man began talking about who Germany really was. He was the Holy Roman Empire. As soon as the name was said, many memories, too many for him to sort out immediatly, came rushing at him. A memory of Italy running away from him. A memory of them painting pictures together. A memory of them snuggling in bed. A memory of them kissing.

Germany's heart clenched in his chest. "My name... is H-Holy Rome..." His hands began to tremble as realization came over him. How could he have forgotten about little Italy, his young love, the one he promised to see again, after the war.

Immediatly he stood. "I have to go."

"But I have barely even told you anything!" Austria exclaimed.

"I know, but I suddenly remembered everything..." Germany was cut off by the phone ringing.

Austria stood from his chair and answered. "Hello?"

"Hello, Austria, this is Prussia... I Germany there with you?"

Austria took the receiver away from his face and turned to the blonde. "Prussia is calling for you."

Grabbing the phone from the Austrian, Germany spoke. "Brother? Did you need something?"

When Prussia spoke, Germany could tell he was nervous. "Umm, West, something is wrong with Italy... I thought you should know."

"Is he saying something about Rome?"

"Yeah... how...?"

Germany didn't let him finish. "I'm coming hom right now."

The blonde hung up the phone and disappeared out the door before Austria could object. Germany hoped he would make it back before Italy was killed again. He didn't know how or why, but he knew how to stop Italy from dying again. 


	6. Finally

Chapter 6: Finally

Germany tried to get home as fast as he could. He wished so hard that Italy was not dead yet, praying that he'd make it there on time. The trip there seemed to take forever. It felt like it was longer than going the other way. He heaved a sigh, holding back tears, almost believing that it would be too late.

A breath of relief released itself from his lips when he finally saw his house peeking out from behind a few trees. The blonde picked up his pace and nearly burst through the door when he arrived.

"Prussia! Italy!" Germany yelled desperately.

"West, over here!" Prussia yelled back.

Germany ran upstairs and into his room, finding Prussia hovering over a trembling Italy. The blonde swallowed and spoke. "How is he?"

"I don't know, he just started screaming like he was in pain then he stopped and started crying. He won't really talk to me..." the albino trailed off as he turned back to the Italian.

Germany pushed his brother gently out of the way and tried to sit the brunette up in the bed. "Italy, look at me please."

Italy slowly opened his eyes to look at his friend. "Germany, Rome is... " Italy couldn't finish his sentence before another wave of sobs took over.

"I know, Italy, shhh." Germany pulled the small nation into his arms and let him cry into his chest. "Italy, I need to tell you something."

"Ve~?" A small look of curiosity showed as Italy pulled himself from the blonde's embrace.

"Italy, I-I think you should know w-who I really am..."

"Germany, what are you talking about?" Italy asked. Prussia's eyes widened behind him as he realized where this was going.

"I-I..." Germany was growing nervous. He hadn't remembered who he was for a long time. Maybe Italy had forgotten about him.

Italy saw the change of moods and became a little nervous himself. Italy looked to the ground. "Germany, what's wrong?"

"I am... Ho-Holy Rome..." Germany paused as his heart began to beat wildly in his chest.

The brunette's eyes widened as his friend said those words. "Holy Rome, " Italy repeated with barely a whisper. How was that possible? Holy Rome was killed a long time ago.

"Italy?" Germany was afraid that he had done something wrong. He was afraid that Italy now hated him and that he no longer loved him.

The smaller man finally looked up and met Germany's eyes. "Holy Rome," he said a bit louder this time. More tears escaped his eyes and he threw his arms around the blonde startling him. "Holy Rome," Italy screamed in the blondes ear.

Germany, unsure of how he should act, simply raised his arms and returned the hug.

"But how are you alive? The person you were with said you had been attacked a-and when I went to go look for you, all I found was your hat!" Italy was barely able to say all that before he broke into sobs again.

"Italy, that doesn't matter now all that matters is that... " Germany swallowed, forcing himself to say the next part. "I love you."

A blush broke out on both the Italian and the German. Germany really did love Italy, he just hadn't realized it until he found out who he was.

"But Ger- I mean, Holy Rome..." Italy wasn't sure what to call his ally. "I..."

"What's wrong, Italy?"

"I want you to be Germany... I do love Holy Rome, but I love Germany more."

The taller nation stared at the Italian as if he had said something crazy. "Italy, I'm still Germany, I... I just remembered who I was," Germany said with a smile.

Italy smiled as well. "I'm glad!" He exclaimed.

Just then, the reunion was cut short by a pounding at the door. Germany released Italy from his grasp and stood. He looked to Prussia. "What was that?"

Prussia shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know..."

At that moment a crash was heard from downstairs. Whoever was slamming on the door broke through. It was then that Germany recalled that British soldiers had broken into his house, killing Italy and shooting his brother. He hadn't been with the brunette at that time, but that didn't matter now. His plan to save Italy had failed and now he was going to see him die again. Germany almost collapsed in tears, but he knew that wouldn't get him anywhere. He would still try to save the Italian even if it wouldn't work.

Thinking quickly he ran to find his gun. "Italy, stay here," Germany said, barely above a whisper.

Prussia followed him and they both retrieved their guns from their place in storage. Checking the ammunition and finding it usable, they both ran to the stairs searching for any sign of the enemy. A British soldier passed the stairs and looked up only to be shot before he could alert the others. The sound of the gun, however, was a good enough alert. At that moment the troops turned their attention to the stairs and almost all at once, they went charging up.

Germany and Prussia were successfully shooting all of them down until the last one found his way to the ground. No sound was heard, but Germany wasn't completely sure if all the soldiers were dead. Before he could desend the stairs, a bang was heard from his room.

"ITALY!" Germany tore through the hallway and burst into his room to find a growing blood stain on his bed an enemy soldier holding a gun and an open window. "No..."

The blonde, without thinking, raised his gun and shot the man who killed Italy. After the soldier was on the ground he cradled the small Italian and waited for the day to restart. He couldn't take this anymore. Tears escaped his eyes.

Prussia came running in a couple seconds later. "West, what..." the albino's eye widened when he saw the blood.

Germany looked at his brother through blury eyes then turned back to Italy. Before he could wonder why the day hadn't restarted already, Italy gasped in pain.

"Germany, it hurts," Italy said.

Germany looked down at the sheets covering the brunette and pulled them off. The bullet had peirced his side, but missed anything fatal. The German almost gasped in surprise. Snapping out of his shock he laid the small nation back down and put pressure to the wound.

"Prussia, go get some towels!"

Prussia ran out of the room and a minute later, came back holding a couple of towels. Germany pulled the top one off and pressed it to Italy's wound. The small nation cried out in pain.

"Italy, it's ok," Germany spoke, trying to sound soothing. He almost couldn't believe that Italy was still alive. His mind was numb and his hands moved on their own accord, trying to save the Italian's life.

Before long Prussia pulled him away from the bleeding Italian and began to bandage the brunette up. Luckily the bullet had passed through so they didn't have to get it out. Once Italy was no longer bleeding and laid down to rest, the German brothers headed downstairs and began to clean up the bodies. A radio across the room began to make noise and startled both men.

"Retreat, retreat! All men retreat! The Italians are forcing us back!"

Germany wasn't sure he heard that correctly. The Italians? They were forcing the enemy to retreat? Things really were changing. His plan had worked and they were winning, but that didn't diminish his surprise about the Italians. They always ran in the face of danger. Maybe they knew what was at stake. Maybe they knew Italy would die if they didn't fight. Well whatever it was, they were winning and that's all that mattered.

That night Germany knew he should be getting some sleep, but he was afraid that he would wake up and it would be this day all over again. So he went to the couch and sat there, staring out the window as if he was expecting to see something. A wave of realization came over him as he was allowed to think about this days events. He was Holy Rome. He had confessed his love for Italy and Italy had done the same. Looking down at his hands he tried to convince himself that he was still Germany, but all these memories of being someone else made him doubt this.

"Germany?" The blonde was interrupted from his thoughts as he heard a familier voice. Turning his head, he found the source of the voice.

"Italy, what are you doing up? You should be resting," Germany had meant that to be a scold, but it came out softer than expected.

"You should be sleeping too..." Italy said as he looked at the ground.

Sighing Germany stood. "Come on, Italy, go back to bed."

"Germany, wait. Why are you down here instead of in bed?"

"I've just been thinking, Italy."

"About me and you." The small nation sounded nervous, as if he was afraid that Germany would leave him.

"Yes... and about who I am."

"You're Germany."

"But I'm also the Holy Roman Empire."

Italy looked at his friend with a small smile. "Holy Rome, you kept your promise and returned to me, but now I want Germany."

Germany just sat there in silent shock as Italy cuddled up next to him on the couch. "I love you, Germany."

The blonde looked down at the Italian and smiled. He would never forget the past, but now he could let go of it and no longer be concerned. He lifted Italys' face so it was level with his and pressed his lips againsted the brunette's. A squeak of surprise came from the smaller man, but a few seconds later he relaxed into the kiss. They pulled apart, both looking content.

"Goodnight, Italy," Germany said pulling him back into a cuddle.

"Goodnight, Germany," Italy replied.

Germany closed his eyes, allowing himself to sleep. He knew that this day would never repeat itself again.

Das Ende La Fine The End

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